Faithless
by Nera Fiore
Summary: [HOLES] ((and the WheelerChick is back in business)) Zero-ish fic. Zero and Stanley have a conversation on their way up the mountain. ((Finished.))


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Faithless

Playtime is over.

By Aly the WheelerChick

Disclaimer(s): The ultimate song lyrics are copywritten to Third Eye Blind, and Holes, Zero, Stanley, and all other related characters and items are copywritten to Louis Sachar, and other people that aren't me.

A/n: Alriiiight! Lol, Aly is back in business. And this time she is attempting to write a Zero-ish fic. I had this idea, and it was cool, and I tried to write it…..but it unfortunately didn't turn out as good as I hoped it would. But I hope you like it. I wanted to do something a little different, and Zero's character is a challenge. I hope you guys like this fic more than I do, heh.

…and I dedicate this to Man and Celestra, because they are the biggest Zero and Stanley fans ever….and Heather, cause she has an obsession with Zero's hair XD 

__

And I speak to you like the chorus to the verse  
Chop another line like a coda with a curse  
Come on like a freak show takes the stage  
We give them the games we play

Zero collapsed onto an overly large boulder. His body was completely worn-out, used up, and beyond exhausted. And the deep gashes in his hands only added to the extreme physical pain he'd endured. Every bone, muscle, and organ ached. It even hurt to breathe. 

And his mind began to grow weary.

The thing he hated most to admit about it was that he was no stranger to the feeling. The mental part anyhow. Ever since he lost his mother years ago he'd lived forever on false hope. But of course…false hope was…well…false. But it was better than no hope at all. And he knew that's how it would always be. Too bad, so sad.

"Zero! Zero, stay with me buddy."

Zero closed his eyes and heard Stanley sitting next to him. "We gotta keep going, Zero, cause it'll be night soon, ya know?" 

He mumbled, "I know, just hold on…I'm cool…it's just…hot."

Well that didn't make much sense. Zero opened his eyes and saw Stanley smiling wide, trying to suppress a laugh. He couldn't help smiling too.

"Shut up, Stanley!"

Suddenly the worst pain grabbed in his stomach and seemed to engulf him. It made him too sick to even scream. He felt he was suddenly poisoned, and his stomach and intestines were eating his other organs, as a revolution was fought within him. All he could do was moan, and ride the storm out.

He rolled onto his side and brought his knees up to his chin. Before he squeezed his eyes tightly shut he noticed Stanley watching in horror. Zero laid in the position a few seconds longer as the 'poison' went numb, and he was able to focus once again. 

"Stanley, give me a word," he said, out of breath. He opened his eyes and saw a relieved Stanley trying to think.

"Uhh…G-A-M-E."

Zero thought hard, biting his tongue.

"Gam-eh? Guh-guh-ah-mm-" he furrowed his brows.

"Oh, wait!" said Stanley suddenly, ears turning red, "There's a long vowel in that, nevermind! Lemme give you a new word!"

Zero was totally lost. "A what?"

"Long vowel. I'll explain them another time. Try this instead, S-O-N-G."

"Wait…I'll try to figure it out by myself. What does G-A-M-E spell?" by his expression, Zero could tell Stanley really didn't feel like thinking or explaining right now. But he was curious.

"It spells 'game' but I really don't feel like going over this."

Zero's curious attitude instantly seemed to crack apart. "Oh." he tried not to frown. Stanley noticed.

"Sorry Zero, we can if you really want, it's just difficult to explain and understand when you're not in the right state of mind-" 

"No," Zero said quietly. "It's not that. I just don't like the word 'game'." 

It was Stanley's turn to raise his eyebrow now, "Huh? Why not? Games are cool, or at least arcade games are anyhow."

Zero sat up right next to him. "That's it exactly."

"Huh?"

"Arcade games."

"Yeah, what about them?"

"I don't like them."

"Okay."

Zero was glad Stanley was too hot to argue. He, himself, was too hot to argue. He looked up from the boulder they collapsed on at the seemingly never-ending mountain, and breathed heavily. He noticed Stanley watching him, and tried to stand up.

He took one step before Stanley even moved, when he suddenly felt light-headed. He stumbled backward and moaned, then fell backward. He landed back on the boulder. On top of Stanley.

"Zero! Yo Zero, you okay?!" Luckily Stanley caught him, and shook him gently. "Take it easy, bud." 

Zero's eyes rolled backward. "Just give me five minutes," he groaned. "I'll be good."

"Okay," Stanley responded, not even making an attempt to move him in the mean time. He leaned back, letting his friend rest.

"This is just like a stupid arcade game," Zero muttered.

"Wha?" Stanley raised his eyebrow again.

"Well yeah," he continued in a hoarse voice, "You keep puttin money in, but you never get anywhere."

Stanley shook his head.

"My whole life's a freakin arcade game!" Zero shouted, reasoning with himself now as well. His voice never rose much higher than the hoarse whisper though. "Have you ever seen someone beat an arcade game?" 

Stanley didn't know what to say. "Umm…"

"No!" said Zero, "Because the freakin machine is rigged so you don't make it past the third level! You can keep putting money in, but all you do is lose! And the arcade owner gets a few laughs and dozens of quarters from your stupid attempts. It's stupid, not fun, and you lose!"

A tear ran down Zero's cheek, and Stanley brushed it away. It was the only action that seemed appropriate. He had no idea what to say. Zero closed his eyes.

"That's not true, Hector."

"Course it is, I'm not stupid! I hung out for three days at this arcade place when my mom left. I heard the janitor guy and the owner talking. He SAID all the games were rigged!" Zero scowled as he spoke, and silence followed.

As moments passed, more tears began to flow out of Zero's eyes, and down off his cheeks. Only a few at first, but he couldn't stop them from coming. More and more leaked out of his eyes, and into Stanley thigh, where he had his head rested. Stanley didn't know how to react to this either.

He went with his instincts, hope for the best. He put on arm across Zero's chest, and the other wrapped behind his neck, and rocked him on his lap and knee, like he would an infant. Zero's sobs grew heavier in doing so, and he started to go into his curled up position, even on Stanley's lap.

"Shh, shh, Hector. You're gonna be okay, Hector," Stanley whispered, "Stay strong buddy, stay strong. Shhh…"

"I miss my mom," Zero said through his sobs and the tears. "I miss her so much, Stanley."

"I know you do," Stanley replied, still rocking the boy. "Shhh…"

The words only comforted him a little bit as Zero tried to calm down. He knew Stanley had no idea how he felt, but he stilled appreciated it all the same.

"I just get tried of wasting all my money," he said, sniffling, "and not being able to make it past level two." He wiped the teats from his face and eyes again. He opened his eyes, and rolled over, looking away from Stanley's face. Stanley let go of him as he did so.

"Hector, think of it like this," Stanley said softly, "I met you and we escaped the Camp. I think that qualifies as getting past level two."

Zero said nothing. Stanley was trying his best, but it wasn't helping.

"Commere," Stanley nudged him, and Zero rolled back onto his back and looked up into Stanley's face. Stanley forced himself to smile.

"Can you sit up?"

Zero shrugged and attempted to guess at what his friend was playing at. With nothing to lose, he managed to sit up, relatively easily, next to Stanley.

Then instantly, Stanley's arms wrapped around Zero, and pulled him into an embrace. Then he whispered, "I know just because we've beat the level doesn't mean we've beat the game yet…but it does mean we've made progress."

Zero was speechless. He honestly didn't know what to think. All he could do was wrap his arms around Stanley, and lean his head onto his shoulder, and try to keep fresh tears from falling. His lip began to quiver as the new hot tears made their way down Zero's cheeks.

"Hector don't cry." 

"I'm trying."

Stanley rubbed his back a few moments, and then released him.

"If we don't give up, we can beat the game. You know it's not impossible? We can try." Stanley put on a sincere smile.

"And you said it yourself," he continued. "When you're lived your life in a hole…" he paused, and broke Zero's grasp, and leaned back, looking directly into his eyes.

"…the only way you can go is up," Zero responded, and let it out a half-sigh, half-giggle.

"C'mon now," said Stanley, "we got a mountain to climb, and a hot fudge sundae to order." 

Zero grinned through his tears, and wiped them away on his sleeve. The traces of anguish and grief and desolation slowly vanished away from him.

Stanley stood and then turned to help him, and said, "We're gonna beat the game, Hector."

Zero's small grin turned into what looked like an overly too large smile. When he finally made it to his feet, with the help of his friend, he looked upward and asked,

"Hey Stanley, how do you spell 'happy'?"

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Heheh, it's cute I guess, but I still don't like it that much. If you did leave me a review, and if you didn't, it's all the more reason to leave me a review because I love flames XD

I have a few ideas for a Zigzag fic that I'm going to do…but I'm going to be going away to camp (Camp Fitch, not Camp Green Lake) on Sunday and I won't be back till the middle of July. So….too bad for you. XP you'll just have to wait. Props to the Holes Posse, because they rock, and so do the people who review my stuff. Love ya guys.


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